West Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
West Virginia HB5618: Federal Court Decision Striking Down Certificate of Need Moratorium.
Status: Introduced, February 16, 2026
What the bill says
To amend and reenact §16B-13-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to removing the Certificate of Need moratorium on opioid treatment facilities. ARTICLE 13. MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT PROGRAM LICENSING ACT. §16B-13-12. Moratorium; certificate of need; end date. There is a moratorium on the licensure of new opioid treatment programs which do not have a certificate of need as of the effective date of the enactment of this section during the 2016 regular session of the Legislature which shall continue until the Legislature determines that there is a necessity for.
From the introduced text, February 16, 2026:
A BILL to amend and reenact §16B-13-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to removing the Certificate of Need moratorium on opioid treatment facilities. ARTICLE 13. MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT PROGRAM LICENSING ACT. §16B-13-12. Moratorium; certificate of need; end date. There is a moratorium on the licensure of new opioid treatment programs which do not have a certificate of need as of the effective date of the enactment of this section during the 2016 regular session of the Legislature which shall continue until the Legislature determines that there is a necessity for additional opioid treatment programs in West Virginia. (a) The Legislature finds that (1) A recent federal court decision in Slaughter v. Edney, No. 3:20-CV-789-CWR-ASH, 2024, that found that longstanding moratoria such as the 2016 moratorium against new certificates of need for opioid treatment centers violates the Fourteenth Amendment by maintaining a perpetual and absolute ban on new market entrants lacked a rational relationship to legitimate governmental interests such as cost control, quality assurance, or access to care. (2) The same federal district court found that a longstanding moratorium can indicate Equal Protection considerations by categorically prohibiting new providers while allowing existing providers to continue operating, the moratorium effectively protected incumbent market participants and excluded similarly situated applicants without a sufficiently rational justification, functioning as a permanent …